How To Make A Shamrock Cake

Need to know how to make a shamrock cake? Making a shamrock cake is easy and does not take much more time than making a regular cake. A shamrock cake can be the centerpiece of an office party or get together and adds to the festive spirit of St. Patrick's Day.

To make a shamrock cake, you will need:

Cake mix (substitute your own recipe if you want to avoid using store-bought mix)

Green food coloring

Cake frosting

A cake pan

Choose the type of cake you want to make. You can make your cake with a cake mix if you are looking for something simple and easy, or follow a cake recipe you have on hand. Depending on the size of the pan, you may need to double the ingredients.

Mix all ingredients together. This is the easiest step. If you are making a white cake and want to be a little more festive, add some green food coloring into the mix. Remember, with food coloring it is always best to add a little at a time until you have the color you want. You can't take it out if you put in too much!

Decide on an icing. Much like the cake, you can just use the icing that comes in a plastic tub, or you can make your own. Consider using a flavor like mint to provide the green icing for the shamrock cake. If you just have white icing, you can add green food coloring here as well to create the right look.

Choose a pan and bake the cake. The type of pan that you use directly relates to how large the shamrock cake you bake will be. Remember that you will be cutting away at the cake, so it will be smaller that the actual pan size. If you want a double-layer shamrock cake, you will need to bake two cakes in the same size pan. Because the cake will be removed from the pan, be sure to grease the bottom and sides of the pan and cover lightly with flour.

Let the cake cool completely. Don't be in a rush to get to the fun part, the cake cutting. The process will be much easier and you will be more successful with a cool cake.

Remove the cake from the pan gently. Go around the edges of the pan with a knife to loosen the cake from the pan. Slowly flip the pan over and place the cake on a plate, cutting board or wax paper.

Cut out a shamrock shape. It you feel comfortable just freehand cutting, go ahead. For those with less experience, draw the shape in the size that you want or print a copy from the internet. Cut it out and place it on top of the cake. Using a serrated knife, follow the pattern using a slow up-and-down motion as you work your way around the cake. Remove the pattern. If you need to, look for pieces that were not cut all the way through. Be careful when cutting as you don't want to throw off the entire shape. Less is more when it comes to cutting.

Add icing to the cake. Spread the green icing over the cake. The cut edges of the cake will be more likely to have crumbs getting into the icing. Use lots of icing to cover the area, and then go over the sides with a smooth knife dipped in warm water to create an even surface.

Decorate the cake. If you want, add green sprinkles, write a message or place a picture in the middle. The decorations depend on the event the cake is meant for. It isn't necessary to add anything; your final shamrock cake can stand alone.